Business

BT has stated that it is unlikely to derive a financial return on its investment in rural fibre broadband for at least 10 years.

As reported, the broadband provider has been something of a lone crusader in providing rural broadband access, after several other companies decided that it was not an area in which it was easy to make a profit.

The high costs of installing fibre connections are leaving thousands of people without broadband connections, while plans to roll out super-fast broadband in the UK are running two years late.

Three European telecoms giants have embraced a spirit of collaboration in an effort to expand Spain's fibre optic network in homes and business premises. Telefónica, Vodafone and Orange have signed an agreement to share vertical fibre optic infrastructures in buildings across the country.

Huawei, the Chinese ICT giant, is reportedly involved in plans to link Pakistan and China fibre-optically – including laying an 800-kilometre stretch of cable alongside the world-famous Karakoram Highway.

According to the Pakistani financial press, the proposed project is part of an $18 billion plan to better link the two countries with a new road and rail track aimed at creating an efficient Pakistan-China ‘economic corridor’.

Internet speeds could be accelerated by up to 100 times by the use of graphene in telecommunications, according to university researchers.

In a paper published in Physical Review Letters, researchers from the Centre for Graphene Science at the Universities of Bath and Exeter demonstrated for the first time incredibly short optical response rates using graphene, which could pave the way for a revolution in telecommunications.

Modulight has announced the nomination of Kalle Palomäki to the company's board of directors. Palomäki brings to the board extensive experience in international sales. He has a background in sales and general management in the area of information technology and is currently Senior Vice President at Efecte.

Palomäki's nomination is effective immediately and he will assume board membership as non-executive director. His nomination follows the retirement of Hubert Jouve from the board. Dr. Jouve will continue as active shareholder and senior advisor to the Board.

The high costs of installing fibre connections are leaving thousands of people without broadband connections, while plans to roll out super-fast broadband in the UK are running two years late.

A damning report by the UK's National Audit Office (NAO) is forecasting that the programme, which is aimed at providing superfast broadband to 90 per cent of premises in every area of the country, will complete the project 22 months later than planned.

Alcatel-Lucent and Telenor Group have signed a three-year global frame agreement that aims to give customers fast, buffering-free mobile video and improve overall Internet service quality. The agreement will enable the deployment of mobile Internet optimisation for Telenor’s 2G, 3G and 4G networks in Europe and Asia.

The European Electronic Communications Code has been finalised and formerly adopted. How will it aid European fibre deployment, and what factors could impact the end goal of copper switch-off? Keely Portway finds out